The invention is based on an actuating device for actuating a throttle valve of an internal combustion engine. An actuating device is already on the market in which the drive motor is followed by a step-down spur gear that acts directly on the throttle valve shaft. This means that a completely new step-down gear must be designed for each size of throttle valve, because the distances between the step-down gear output shaft and the throttle valve shaft vary with the size of the throttle valve.